Old politicians should give young ones a chance — Archbishop Kaigama

Archbishop Ignasius Kaigama is the Catholic Bishop of the Archdiocese of Jos and immediate past President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. He talks with JUSTIN TYOPUUSU about the rivalry between the Tiv and the Jukun, among other issues

What steps is the Catholic Church taking to end the age-long rivalry between the Tiv and the Jukun and how do you intend to sustain the peace move?

It is said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Fr. James Bature and I have been together for over 40 years as Tiv and Jukun. Since we have had such a wonderful relationship, we felt we should not keep it to ourselves alone. We decided we should expand it and include others. That was why we held an interactive session aimed at improving inter-cultural relationships in Nigeria, particularly with the Tiv and Jukun.

We thought it should concern everybody and that is why we invited the governors of Benue and Taraba states, traditional rulers and the youth as our main targets. We held it at the university so that it can reach more people. The students came from different parts of the states. We are happy it has achieved the desired effect.

What lessons do you think can be learnt in the relationship you have both sustained for over 40 years?

I think it’s just a mutual acceptance of the other person. When you set conditions for friendship, you say the person must be rich, must have this or that before you become friends. You end up creating problems. When you love without boundaries, conditions or barriers, all you see is a human being. You don’t see a tribe or someone insignificant. You only see somebody created in the image of God.

We saw ourselves in school while studying to become priest and we got along and decided to exchange visits and that has continued for a long time. We are trying to prove that we must transcend this narrow prejudices and creation of unhealthy artificial barriers among tribes. Nigeria is said to have over 400 ethnic communities. What is responsible for our slow progress is because of ethnic and religious differences. Things that should enhance and improve our growth and development pull us down.

What is your advice to Nigerians as they go to the poll next month?

First of all, we hope it will be true elections. True in the sense that everything done to hold the elections will be carried out in correct spirit and will be transparent, honest and guided by God. We hope that is the case. The electioneering we are witnessing is a healthy one but Nigerians should know that politics is not the only vocation we have. It appears there was a time when oil was the booming business but now it seems politics has assumed a dimension that people are hell-bent on winning. And if they don’t win, they are prepared to cause trouble. Some win and they are declared losers, while losers become winners. It is unhealthy. My prayers and wishes are that the politicians should reason well. Many of them have been in the game for some time and there are those who have been in it for long. I think they should open the window a bit and allow fresh blood and young people to come in and learn something. They should hand over to the young.

For once, I plead that we avoid politics of bitterness, hate speech, hatred and so on. Politics is a noble game and should be approached with honour and dignity. But it’s not a do-or-die thing or an avenue to amass wealth. If that’s one’s way of joining politics, then I’m afraid it’s not healthy. We beg our government, the police, INEC and the security agencies to do their job properly without bias or favouritism.

Don’t you think the security situation in the country will hamper the elections?

No, I don’t think so. Nigerians are a special people. It’s when you think something will not work that it will work. I know for years now, sometimes we have differences and we are on the brink of a major turbulence and things suddenly stabilise. We have great resilience and great ways of managing our problems. I am not in doubt that this election is going to be successful despite the ongoing horse-trading. You will hear of accusations and counter-accusations but it should be done with decorum, fear of God and honour to the people they promise to serve.

What is your view on vote buying that has crept into Nigeria’s political stage?

That is another vocabulary in the Nigerian political lexicon that I don’t want to hear. It contradicts the whole essence of democracy. Democracy is to enable the people to have the freedom of choice. You are not pressured or enticed but you freely choose your leaders. But when people begin to offer money to win votes, then there’s something fishy. It’s unhealthy and it will breed misunderstanding, tension and violence. Once votes are bought and money is used to influence officials who should be neutral umpires, then we are in trouble. The people will react and then there will be violence; destruction can set us backward. Vote buying is not civilised and certainly not a democratic vocabulary.

Copyright PUNCH.

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.